Democrat Lucio followed faith, not party

Again wearing his blue coat, Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville, greets Governor Rick Perry before the signing into law of the abortions restrictions bill on July 18, 2013.

Again wearing his blue coat, Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville, greets Governor Rick Perry before the signing into law of the abortions restrictions bill on July 18, 2013.

Photo: TOM REEL, San Antonio Express-News

Photo: TOM REEL, San Antonio Express-News

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Again wearing his blue coat, Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville, greets Governor Rick Perry before the signing into law of the abortions restrictions bill on July 18, 2013.

Again wearing his blue coat, Senator Eddie Lucio D-Brownsville, greets Governor Rick Perry before the signing into law of the abortions restrictions bill on July 18, 2013.

Photo: TOM REEL, San Antonio Express-News

Democrat Lucio followed faith, not party

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AUSTIN — Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. was not the only Texas Democrat to vote for a controversial package of abortion restrictions this month, but he was the only one onstage with Gov. Rick Perry as some of the tightest regulations in the country were signed into law.

It was the finalizing of legislation that drove a sharp wedge between the two political parties during the past two months.

The Republican-controlled House and Senate pushed the bill forward during a second special session, amid intense public scrutiny and pressure from both sides of the issue.

For Lucio — the only Senate Democrat to vote for the bill — the issue of abortion runs deeper than partisan politics.

At Thursday's signing ceremony, the Brownsville Democrat and the Republican governor hugged and posed for photographers.

“This is one of the most emotional issues for me, but one of the easiest votes I've ever taken because it had to do with my faith,” Lucio, 67, said after the bill signing. “This should not be a party issue. I think Catholics and Republicans together should embrace life and respect the unborn.”

Lucio said he's proud of his vote and of his faith. He's never been coy about it guiding his legislative decisions, particularly on abortion.

“You cannot be Catholic and be pro-choice,” he said. “It's impossible.”

Some Catholic groups and lawmakers disagree.

State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said she does not support abortion, but respects the rights of other women to make their own decisions. Garcia has been on a bus tour this month across the state with other Democrats, including state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, to rally against the restrictions.

“We all have to follow our own conscience and we have to respect the rights of others to do that,” Garcia said. “To me, that's what being Catholic is about; we don't judge, it's up to God to judge.”

The organized fight against abortion rights restrictions continues, with Davis in the lead. She staged an 11-hour filibuster at the close of the first special session to stop the vote on the bill. In the final minutes of a midnight deadline, protesters shouted long and loud enough to derail the vote.

Sara Hutchinson, domestic program director of Catholics for Choice, an international organization based in Washington, said a majority of the 7.1 million Catholics in Texas support a woman's right to choose abortion.

“Sen. Lucio certainly has the right to express his own faith and to vote his conscience but he should also ensure that he is checking with his constituents,” Hutchinson said. “His personal views are certainly important but he was not elected to represent his own views but to represent all of those in his district.”

Fewer than 40 percent of Catholics want the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade, overturned, according to a Pew Research poll on religion from January, while 55 percent want the ruling that legalized abortion in the United States to stand.

The new law bans abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, requires doctors performing the procedure to have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles, forces abortion clinics to meet standards for ambulatory surgical centers, and regulates how doctors administer abortion-inducing drugs.

Unless a lawsuit delays implementation, all but one provision take effect in October. The surgical center standards take effect next year.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund purchased online and print ads against the senator last week across the state and particularly in his South Texas district.

“Tell Sen. Lucio to put women's health before his political ambition,” the ads read. Lucio said the ads couldn't be “further from the truth” because he has no ambition for higher office.

Lucio said he understands his position on abortion is not compatible with the state's Democratic Party, but scoffed at the idea of switching parties.

“My colleagues and party leaders want to embrace the pro-choice movement but my faith plays a major role in my decision,” Lucio said. “I will continue to be a Democrat and continue to fight for hungry children, find the resources necessary for housing and continue to add more money to education and health care.”

State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Harlingen, Sen. Lucio's son, voted against the restrictive abortion measures signed into law Thursday. He did not return requests for comment.

Guillen said he is Catholic but votes the way the majority of his constituents would vote, not simply on his personal position.

Abortion “is one of those tough issues to vote on, this is one you struggle with tremendously,” Guillen said. “But at the end of the day, you've got to vote one way or the other and I think that's where the folks back home fall.”